Goodbye Tigcraft

Dave Pearce Bows Out

Dave Pearce (far right) in happier times at one of the early team meetings. The relationship was soured when Dave left the project without notice and with a great deal of work on the chassis still to be completed. At the time of Dave's departure, he had led us to believe that only minor tasks were needed to make the chassis complete.

In April last year, the day before we were due to return the bike to his workshop, Dave Pearce sent us this in an email:

After a huge amount of thought over the weekend I have decided to end my Involvement in the project. There are a myriad of reasons some of which are
out of my control. I wish you well and will remain willing to offer an opinion.
Sorry but this decision is final.

There were a number of tasks left unfinished. First among these was the making of a swing arm spindle which we entrusted to BSD Performance. When the swingarm was tightened for the first time, nothing lined up. The rear wheel was out of line both laterally and vertically.
We turned to Harris Performance for help in putting the frame right.
In addition to correcting the misalignment, they added strength to areas of the frame and swingarm which they felt to be essential. Other, more minor but nevertheless crucial errors were also rectified.
When asked about the errors, Dave refused to answer specific questions and defended his position by claiming that the frame was only a prototype.
For the record, he charged us £8,500 for the work he did.
Sadly, the relationship ended on a sour note, which is a cause for regret.

Enigma 1050 – a very British motorcycle being built in Hampshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Surrey, Sussex, Suffolk, Shropshire and Cambridgeshire.